No one, not even Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien, knows exactly who the Texans’ starting quarterback will be this fall. But O’Brien has a plan in place which will allow him to eventually make the decision.

“I think initially you have to, in this part of the year, you have to make sure the reps are equal. Then you got to make sure that each guy gets a chance to rep with the starters, or the guys that are running with the first team. I think that’s important too. So we try to do that, try to make sure we get equal reps, then at some point, whether it’s two weeks from now, three weeks from now, two months from now when we get to training camp, we’ll make a determination on who gets the most reps to get them ready for the game, but we are not there right now. We got to continue to give these guys equal amount of reps and give them a shot.”

Four quarterbacks are competing to start. Ryan Fitzpatrick signed as a free agent. The team selected Pitt’s Tom Savage in the fourth round of the NFL draft. Case Keenum and T.J. Yates are holdovers from the previous regime.

The Texans are in this position because the organization decided to pass on a quarterback early in the draft. O’Brien has shown he can adapt his system around quarterbacks with different styles, though.

As Penn State’s head coach, it’s worth noting that O’Brien recruited the No. 1 pocket passer in the nation, Christian Hackenberg, who started as a true freshman. Prior to Hackenberg’s arrival, O’Brien adapted his offense to senior QB Matt McGloin. McGloin wasn’t the most physically talented quarterback, but O’Brien was successful with him behind center.

O’Brien could do the same thing with any of the quarterbacks on the roster, but Fitzpatrick should be considered the favorite to win the starting job for three reasons:

Fitzpatrick is a nine-year veteran with 77 career starts.

The Texans targeted and signed Fitzpatrick after he was released by the Tennessee Titans.

Fitzpatrick is already ahead of the curve in regards to picking up O’Brien’s offense.

Fitzpatrick may not be an ideal option, but his potential insertion into the starting lineup will allow the young quarterbacks on the roster more time to develop. And O’Brien plans to give them as many reps as possible throughout the summer.